Opinion: Five things we learned from Postecoglou’s first game in charge of Spurs

Ange Postecoglou may have tasted defeat in his first pre-season match in charge of Spurs, but he got to see 22 of his new players in action against West Ham over in Australia. 

Let’s take a look at the five things we learned:

Passing centre-backs – 

It only took a few minutes to see how much emphasis Postecoglou puts on the passing abilities of his two central defenders. With both fullbacks pushed up into central positions, it is up to the centre-backs to find incisive passes through the middle of the pitch.

Give the ball away, and you’re in trouble, which we saw a few times today. Yet another reminder that Spurs need to invest in at least two of these kinds of defenders before the transfer window shuts.

Debut performances – 

There were a few debuts out there today. Vicario made a very nice low reaction save to keep West Ham out in the first half. James Maddison was handed a floating number ten role and occupied pretty much every position in the final third. He was also allowed to take set pieces.

Manor Solomon was arguably the bright spark of the first half, setting up two great chances before going close with a long-range effort. Destiny Udogie scored with a flick-on from a corner and looked really comfortable in the centre of the pitch.

Lots of chances at both ends – 

Spurs may have lost 3-2 but the Lilywhites had the majority of the ball and created a bunch of good chances throughout the 90. Unfortunately, none of them fell to Harry Kane and it’s the start of pre-season so everyone is a little rusty in front of goal.

Oliver Skipp, Manor Solomon, Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison, Emerson Royal, Cristian Romero, Yves Bissouma, and more all had good chances to find the back of the net.

Of course, with the attacking style of Postecoglou, Spurs were also caught on the counter every time they gave the ball away in the middle of the park. They also looked very weak when defending set pieces. Is 3-2 a scoreline we are going to see a fair bit next season?

Giovani Lo Celso – 

Perhaps the biggest head-scratcher from this first pre-season friendly was Giovani Lo Celso, arguably Tottenham’s best player on the pitch. He picked up some great pockets of space and used them effectively to set up the likes of Richarlison. He also made good runs into the box and grabbed a goal for himself from Sanchez’s knockdown.

While all the talk has been about Tanguy Ndombele’s redemption story, could Lo Celso get a second chance under Postecoglou too?

Captains for the day – 

It was no surprise that Harry Kane was handed the armband for the first half, with Hugo Lloris not in the squad. After all, he was the vice-captain last year and seems the obvious choice to take the armband next season if he stays.

In the second half, Postecoglou gave it to Ben Davies. Probably as a long-serving and experienced player who has a good head on his shoulders. In the second 45, the only other sensible candidates would have been Hojbjerg or Perisic really.

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